by Lisa Stone
‘It was the night you returned Tinder, and I’m not saying it was definitely a person. I didn’t tell you at the time because I couldn’t make sense of what I’d seen. I still can’t – even less so after this evening. But …’
‘But what?’ Chris asked seriously, holding her gaze.
It seemed ridiculous now. ‘Whatever I saw the last time was very agile and went over the side gate. I thought it could have been a child, but now I’m not sure. I’m sorry, this sounds crazy. I don’t know what I saw,’ she finished lamely.
Thankfully Chris wasn’t laughing and appeared to be taking her concerns seriously. ‘You’ve obviously had a shock, seen something, and been very scared by it. But it was dark on both occasions, and our eyes can play tricks on us in the dark.’ He glanced at her open laptop. ‘I know you want peace and quiet to write your book, but do you think you’ve been overdoing it? It’s very isolated here and you’ve been spending a lot of time by yourself – just you and your imagination.’
He had phrased it so delicately Jan found she couldn’t take offence. It wasn’t her imagination, but she didn’t feel like arguing the point now. His face lightened and lost its seriousness as he said, ‘Perhaps I could help ease your isolation by taking you out to dinner one evening?’
‘Oh, I see. I don’t know,’ Jan said, surprised. ‘It’s very kind of you to ask.’
‘Well?’ He was waiting for her to reply.
‘Won’t I be treading on someone’s toes?’ she asked. ‘I sort of assumed that you and Camile …’ But Chris was already shaking his head.
‘It’s true, we had a relationship some years ago, but for various reasons it didn’t work out. We’ve remained good friends. That’s all we are now – friends. So no, you won’t be stepping on Camile’s toes if you come out to dinner with me.’
Jan smiled. ‘Then yes, please, I’d like to.’
‘Good. Tomorrow?’ She nodded. ‘I’ll collect you at seven o’clock – that’ll give me a chance to shower and change after work.’
‘Perfect.’
‘And as for whatever is getting into the garden, I’ll fix the hole in the hedge at the weekend. I’ll also go into the woods and see what’s happening on the other side. Then I can reassure you.’
‘Thank you.’
FOURTEEN
Jan let Tinder sleep on her bed that night. She felt safer with him beside her. Even so, it was a long time before she fell asleep. Every noise seemed to suggest that whatever was out there could have come back. Tinder was restless too and kept rising from his sleep to pace the bed, ears up and alert, as though he might have heard something. It didn’t help Jan’s nerves at all. Eventually she must have fallen asleep in the early hours. The last time she looked at the clock on her phone it had been 2.15 a.m. and now it was 8.05, and daylight. She breathed a sigh of relief.
Getting out of bed, she threw on her dressing gown, pushed her feet into her slippers and opened the bedroom curtains. Tinder, tail wagging, was at her side, ready for breakfast and his morning run.
‘Come on then, good boy,’ Jan said, and went downstairs.
Life here seemed so much better in the daytime and she was seeing Chris this evening for dinner. She was looking forward to it, more than she cared to admit. She’d liked him from their first meeting and would like him more now she knew he wasn’t in a relationship with Camile. Good friends, he’d said. Did that mean friends with benefits? Then she caught herself. Chris had asked her out for dinner – to help alleviate her isolation, he’d said – and that was all. His ‘friendship’ with Camile was nothing to do with her. And anyway, she wasn’t ready for another proper relationship yet – with Chris or anyone.
Downstairs, Jan opened the curtains in the living room. How different the garden seemed by daylight: clearly visible, peaceful and non-threatening. She went into the kitchen, fed Tinder and then filled the coffee machine and dropped two slices of bread into the toaster. As usual Tinder ate half his breakfast and then trotted to the back door to be let out for a run. As Jan opened the door she saw the pieces of wood she’d used to block up the hole in the hedge strewn across the lawn as Chris had said. It was nice of him to offer to repair the damage at the weekend, but she couldn’t wait until then. Not three or four nights with a gaping hole – an open invitation to whatever it was to return. She would have another attempt at repairing it, make it stronger. It had lasted two nights before, so if she made it more robust, hopefully it would stay in place.
Tinder finished in the garden by sniffing around the wood and then returned indoors to eat the rest of his breakfast. Jan buttered her toast, poured some coffee and took her breakfast upstairs to have as she showered and dressed. Bring warm clothes suitable for the country, Camile had included in her emailed instructions. She had, and was now dressed in jeans and a thick woollen jumper.
Returning downstairs, Jan took her padded zip-up jacket from its hook in the hallway and went into the kitchen. Tinder looked at her, hopeful for a walk.
‘I’ll take you into the village later, but for now we’re going in the garden,’ she told him. She knew she could trust him not to disappear through the hedge in daylight. It was after dark when he gave chase and vanished into the woods.
Tucking her phone into her jacket pocket, Jan went into the garden and began gathering up the pieces of wood and stacking them to one side. They hadn’t been broken or damaged, just removed from where she’d fixed them over the hole. She found the wire netting with the twine she’d used to tie it in place still attached. As she looked more closely she could see that it hadn’t been gnawed through; the knots had been unpicked. Could foxes do that? No. What animal could? None that she knew of.
She crossed the lawn to the hole in the hedge and, squatting down, examined the track marks. There were fresh ones, but it was still impossible to identify them. On the branches either side of the hole was more twine.
Puzzled and unnerved but wanting to cover the hole again as quickly as possible, Jan began bringing over the wood she’d used previously and started boarding up the hole again. Tinder sniffed around the patio. She fetched more wood and wire netting from the shed and secured it in place with twine. It was much better fortified now, stronger and more robust, but as she worked she had a strange, unsettling feeling that her efforts could all be in vain. Anything that had the intelligence to untie knots and disassemble wood and wire netting wouldn’t be kept out by this. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced an animal hadn’t done this. It must have been a person or people and she trembled at the thought. Chris had been wrong to dissuade her from reporting it to the police simply because she couldn’t give a good description.
Half an hour later, satisfied she’d done her best and the repair would hopefully keep them out for a while at least, Jan returned the tools to the shed and went indoors. She sat on a kitchen stool and phoned Coleshaw Police Station.
‘I want to report an intruder,’ she said to the call handler.
‘Is the intruder on the premises now?’
‘No.’
‘I’ll put you through to an officer as soon as one is available.’
Jan then had to wait a few minutes before an officer came on the line.
He introduced himself as ‘Detective Constable Matt Davis’, and asked for her full name and contact details. Jan then explained that she was renting Ivy Cottage, Wood Lane, and that someone, or possibly more than one person, had been coming into the garden after dark. She said she thought they were getting in through a hole in the hedge at the rear of the property, which backed onto Coleshaw Woods. He asked for the dates and times of the incidents, and then said, ‘Did you get a good look at the intruder?’
‘No, it was too dark. Just a shadow, really. But there are prints in the earth where they’re coming through.’
‘OK. I’ll take a look. Will you be in at around three o’clock this afternoon?’
‘Yes, I can be.’
‘I’ve got to visit someone in Merryless first, so I’
ll stop by after. Although hopefully now you’ve secured the gap it won’t happen again.’
‘Thank you,’ Jan said, pleased he was taking her concerns seriously. ‘Have you had any other reports of this happening? I’ve only been in the cottage a few weeks, but judging from the footprints it could have been going on for some time.’
‘Not as far as I’m aware,’ Matt Davis replied. ‘In the summer we sometimes have problems with teenagers messing around in the woods and making camp fires, but that’s usually at the other end, up near the quarry. I believe Ivy Cottage backs onto the thickest part of the forest.’
‘Yes, although I haven’t been in that part of the woods.’
‘Oh, you should,’ he said enthusiastically. ‘They’re at their best in autumn. The colours are amazing. Keep to the footpaths and you can’t get lost.’
‘I might give it a try,’ Jan replied. The local police seemed far friendlier than those in the towns and cities.
Matt confirmed he would be with her soon after three and, winding up the conversation, said goodbye.
Jan was pleased she’d phoned. Justified and exonerated, her spirits lifted. She’d done the right thing in reporting it, and although she hadn’t been able to provide a description, it was being investigated. Now she needed to go to the village store to make sure she was back in plenty of time for his visit.
‘Tinder! Come on, walkies!’ she called.
She checked the back door was locked, then went into the hall and unhooked the dog lead from its peg. Although Tinder could run freely along the lane, she would need to use it when they neared the village and had to cross the main road.
‘Tinder! Walkies!’ she called again. He didn’t usually need telling twice. ‘Tinder!’
He appeared at the top of the stairs, tail wagging and with a mischievous look on his face. As he came down, Jan saw he had something white in his mouth.
‘What have you got?’ she asked, and took it away.
It was a small white bootee belonging to a baby or large doll, now covered in saliva. ‘Where did you get that?’
Tinder looked back guiltily. Jan went upstairs and found the door to the second bedroom wide open. She couldn’t have closed it properly after she’d switched off the sensor light. The contents of a number of Camile’s carefully packed boxes were scattered across the floor.
‘Tinder! You naughty boy!’ she called. She’d have to clear it up later. She needed to go to the village store now, before DC Matt Davis arrived. ‘Naughty boy,’ she said again as she came downstairs.
Tinder looked at her with large, sorrowful eyes. ‘It’s OK,’ she said, rubbing his head. ‘It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have allowed you upstairs. Your mistress doesn’t.’
She ruffled his fur again and then, lead in hand, opened the front door and set off for Merryless. As well as milk, she needed to top up on loose change to feed the meter. Also, she’d have a look at the food in their freezer. They kept a reasonable selection for a village store to try to persuade villagers to shop there rather than going to the supermarkets in Coleshaw.
Jan walked briskly along Wood Lane with Tinder not far behind. The day had started off bright but now the clouds were gathering. She could feel the temperature dropping. It was early November and the weather forecast was predicting ground frost by the end of the week. Her mother was already asking about Christmas and hoping that Jan would spend it with them. But she couldn’t leave Tinder alone. Her good friend Ruby had texted asking if she had any plans for Christmas and suggesting they could spend it holed up in the cottage with wine and movies, which she liked the idea of.
‘Come on, Tinder! Keep up!’ Jan called. He kept stopping to sniff and forage in the undergrowth at the edge of the woods.
‘Come on. Good boy!’ Jan called again, and turned.
Tinder was nowhere to be seen.
‘Tinder!’ she shouted. ‘Here, now!’
There was no sign of him. She stayed where she was and listened for any sound suggesting he could be close. But the woods were eerily quiet. ‘Tinder! Come on. Here, boy!’
Still nothing. Worried and annoyed that she was having to retrace her steps, Jan went back along the lane. He’d been following her the last time she’d looked, not half a minute ago, but now he’d completely disappeared. She kept going, calling his name and looking into the woods on both sides. He must have chased something. But in which direction? There were trees to her left and right on both sides.
‘Tinder!’ she shouted at the top of her voice. Then she heard a rustle.
She spun round and looked into the woods where the noise had come from – just in time to see Tinder reappear, running flat out towards her. But what was that behind him? A flash of someone also running, the briefest glimpse before they disappeared into the woods. An image, an outline, the size and shape of a child, similar to the one she thought she’d seen scramble over the side gate of the cottage. Was it possible there could be a child or children living feral in the woods? Surely not. And yet …
FIFTEEN
Shaken, Jan ran along Wood Lane, her thoughts spinning. She kept her eyes straight ahead and didn’t look into the woods either side and certainly not behind her for fear of what she might see. Tinder was running flat out beside her, his little legs working hard to keep up.
It could have been a child and yet something in its shape and the way it had moved between the trees suggested otherwise. Could it have been an adult trying to keep low to avoid being seen? She thought it was possible, which made her more afraid. Were they following her? If so, why? What did they want with her? Thank goodness she’d reported it to the police and an officer was coming this afternoon. It gave her some reassurance.
Perspiring and out of breath, Jan finally stopped running when the lane met the main road. She put Tinder on his lead and then continued at a brisk walk towards Merryless. Tinder was also out of breath and panting heavily, his tongue drooling. He seemed as unnerved by what had happened in the woods as she was.
Further up, she crossed the road and continued along the pavement to the village shop. Her pulse rate and breathing began to settle. Her biggest worry now was that she had to return along Wood Lane. The clouds were still gathering – thick grey clouds causing the sky to darken and the light to go early. If only she’d brought her car.
Entering the store, Jan took a wire basket from the stack, quickly gathered together the items she needed and approached the counter. There were two customers ahead of her and she waited impatiently. Once they’d been served, Lillian, the store owner, greeted her with a big smile. ‘Hello, love.’ Her first question as always was: ‘Is Chris looking after you all right?’ Her husband, Jim, was Chris’s brother.
‘He is,’ Jan replied.
‘Excellent.’
As Lillian scanned the items into the till she made small talk. Jan replied, although her thoughts were still far away – in the lane and surrounding woods. She paid using a card and then asked for change for the meter.
Lillian disappeared through a door behind her, into the office where the safe was. She returned with a bag of one-pound coins, which Jan swapped for a twenty-pound note. It was an arrangement Camile had begun some time before and worked well.
‘Are you managing to keep warm in the cottage?’ Lillian asked as Jan tucked the bag of coins into her jacket pocket.
‘Yes, although it’s not cheap and winter has only just begun.’
‘No, indeed,’ Lillian agreed. ‘Camile keeps meaning to have that old meter replaced but never gets around to it.’
‘I’m fine,’ Jan said. ‘As long as I remember to feed the meter.’
‘And Tinder is behaving himself?’ Lillian asked, looking at him over the counter. ‘Not disappearing into the woods again?’
‘He does, given the opportunity,’ Jan said. She hesitated, then asked, ‘Do you know if there is anyone living in the woods?’
‘Apart from you, you mean?’
‘Yes. I mean actually living i
n the woods.’
‘No, not as far as I know. What makes you ask?’ she frowned, puzzled.
‘Coming here today I thought I saw someone.’
‘A hiker?’ Lillian suggested.
‘Possibly.’ Jan shrugged. ‘Never mind. I just wondered. Thanks for the meter money.’
‘You’re welcome. Have a good evening. Chris is taking you somewhere nice.’ She winked.
‘News travels fast,’ Jan said, returning her smile.
‘He was in here earlier and mentioned it.’
Another customer approached the till so, thanking Lillian for the meter money again, Jan said goodbye and left.
Outside, Jan kept Tinder on a short lead as they crossed the main road and then eased it off a bit as they walked to the end of Wood Lane. What she’d seen wasn’t someone hiking in the woods. Yet Lillian hadn’t heard of anyone living in them and she was usually aware of what went on around here.
Jan paused at the end of Wood Lane and looked along it as far as she could before it disappeared around a bend. With woods on both sides and the sky grey, the lane appeared like a long, dark tunnel. As usual it was deserted. It seemed a long way to the cottage, but she needed to get going.
Keeping Tinder on the lead, Jan set off at a jog, but it was difficult with a bag full of shopping banging against her leg. Tinder was tired, his little legs were having to work hard to keep up and he kept wanting to stop. Eventually, Jan slowed to a brisk walk, which Tinder could manage. As they turned the last bend in the lane, the cottage came into view. Jan stopped dead. There was someone in the front garden. Someone small. Too far away to identify with the light so poor, a shadow, but now moving towards her front door. Tinder saw it too and began barking, straining against the lead to be let free.
They turned and ran, disappearing into the woods at the side of the cottage.
‘Hey, stop! Come back!’ Jan cried, and ran the rest of the way to the cottage. ‘Hello? Is there someone there?’ she called into the shrubbery, feeling braver now she was home again.